


Ammophilous

by blind_bombshell



Series: Auntie Crickette's Bedtime Stories [1]
Category: American Gods (TV), American Gods - Neil Gaiman, Hannibal (TV), Hannibal Extended Universe - Fandom, Madancy Multiverse - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Urban Fantasy, American Gods Inspired, Fantasy, First Kiss, First Meetings, High Fantasy, M/M, Urban Fantasy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 09:08:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8618281
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blind_bombshell/pseuds/blind_bombshell
Summary: Heavily inspired by Neil Gaiman's American Gods, this is a fusion between Hannibal, Greek/Roman Mythical Gods, @CamilleCailloux's artwork, and my own imagination that ran away with this concept. This is so AU I don't know if we can even see the source material from here. Notes are at the end.Will is Tethys, Hannibal is his Oceanus. This is high fantasy with a mythological twist, first meeting and first kiss.





	

Will is ageless and Hannibal is timeless. Will is the air, while Hannibal is the sea. In the beginning, with the Titans, and Will was merely a child, Hannibal was yet to be born... and yet when he was, he was older than Will – more knowledgeable in many respects and ignorant in others, but still mighty and strong. No one questions how this works as this is simply the nature of things and the world of Gods.

Hannibal is the sea and Will is the air, whispers of influence that croon sweeter than a siren's song.

At first, Hannibal was only the streams – but then as the streams grew and shrank, water began to pool into larger ponds, Hannibal’s influence and power grew until he could control some of the smaller seas.

As the world cooled, thanks to several influences (but not least Hannibal’s flowing water sources), Will becomes more active – giving Gods the wherewithal to create. He even leant some inspiration to Hannibal in order to start bacterium and plants, which lead to animals, and, eventually, humans. He was particularly proud of them – animals and humans were a group effort, of course, but 75% of humans are water, after all, and they all need fresh water to live. So Hannibal, being himself, counted this as a win. Influence and dependence of humanity without any of that messy upkeep. Lovely.

Humanity was still pretty new, but they looked like the Gods... Smaller, but with greater purpose. More interesting, by far, if only because they did what the Gods did but without the power and a thimble of the life expectancy. He couldn’t wait to see all of what they did.

He knew Will, in particular, really enjoyed them. Will was, literally, _Will -_ the will to change, to push forward, that ineffable push of being that all creatures, even Gods, require to persevere in the world.

Hannibal was immediately besotted, of course. Will could push anyone to his own desires and choices, and yet did not. It was his nature to push people towards their own ends rather than his own.

Being the God of the streams and rivers did have its benefits. After all, he could travel pretty much wherever he wanted. As all creatures depended on fresh water to live, and running water was imperative to this, he knew all the gossip of the humans, which entertained him more than he cared to admit. Sometimes he would let his tentacles unfurl in the water as he listened to the various tongues of humankind, the thick tendrils of his hair buoyant and swaying in the current as the sunlight kissed his skin. Sometimes, he’d feel as though eyes were upon him, but as he was hidden from Human eyes and Gods didn’t bother him so he knew it was merely paranoia from letting his guard down.

Of course, his current favorite feature of being the God of fresh water, is that Will sometimes fishes in his streams. Will would cast his net and hum softly to himself, sometimes singing to the fish, and Hannibal would just… watch. Even though they were both Gods and therefore peers, this was the only time Hannibal would see him and he daren’t bother him – not when he was looking so at ease and singing. Every time Hannibal would see him, he would promise to himself that he would talk to Will next time… and every time he would get lost in the rhythm of the cast, in the rhythm of his voice, the warm expanse of his bared back and thighs and… he’d forget until Will was gone and Hannibal was left promising himself next time, _next time._

It was… vexing. He was vexed. By _Will._ Who was, naturally, completely unaware. Mostly because he never bothered with the other Gods unless he wanted them to do something, and when he wasn’t influencing them he was nowhere to be found.

 

Of course this all came to a head one day in the most surprising of ways. Well, surprising to Hannibal. And probably the fish.

It was a lovely day. Sunlight dappling the water in that brilliant, flaxen colored way that happens on temperate midsummer days that makes everything seem even more lovely and vibrant than usual. The bugs were noisy but practically absent, only visible enough to be food for the fish. People, mostly women and children, were down the bank, some doing their washing and singing along with the twack-slap of wet clothes while others practiced their shield and sword work. It was distant, though, just enough to provide a steady murmur that went along with the rhythm of the wash and the hum of the bugs and the bubble of the creek. Hannibal was floating on his back in the river, arms akimbo, the tendrils of his tentacles floating aimlessly as a few solid ones anchored him in-place from rocks on the bottom. The cool water was entirely too refreshing on his tanned skin, tickling and rushing against it like a particularly attentive but flighty lover. His eyes were closed, listening to the sound of life all around him and feeling the pulse of the river in his veins and his heart. He knew every rock, every fish, every person who swam in it. It was nothing short of glorious. Idly, he cracked an eye open and raised a hand above his face to block out the sun, just to see it against the light and watch the water drip down his arm. A few errant drops landing on his face. He took a deep breath, feeling completely at peace in the moment --

 

**_THWACK_ **

 

He tossed and flailed, water going up his nose, panic seizing his heart. He was trapped. He was surrounded. He couldn't ESCAPE. He couldn't breathe! He was going to die. He was.. He was… being laughed at.

He slowed his movements and realized his anchoring tentacles were still free, and raised himself upright to see Will, head thrown back in a full body laugh. "That was better than I'd hoped," he giggled, moving his arms to untangle Hannibal. "The mighty Oceanus, trapped and befallen in a fisherman's net. Hilarious."

Hannibal frowned.

"Ah, no need to pout," Will said, finally getting the last of it over Hannibal's head and back to his side, "There. Not a thing out of place."

Hannibal crossed his arms across his chest defensively, trying to appear unmoved. Will smirked, "Did you know they call you Oceanus? The humans, I mean?"

"I wasn't aware."

"Oh yeah, you're a big hit. They can't quite figure out what your legs are, or whether you have tentacles or a fish tail, and they say you have horns, which you don't, but other than that, it's pretty spot-on for people who've never actually seen you." Will blushed and looked away, "Right." He cleared his throat, "Listen, I know you sometimes watch me when I fish and I know you send more fish to me when I'm out there and I just -- I wanted you to know you can talk to me, you know? Not just sneaking around behind logs or under the water."

A shadow rippled across Hannibal's body like a startled cuttlefish, "I do _not--"_

"- I can _see_ you, Hannibal. No one, not even the Gods, can hide from me. I see everything, I see too much. Or not enough. And it's difficult, when you can see everyone's potential and even the Earth itself is willing to bend to you and the word _Will_ is literally you, what you do and what you are and -- this dancing around each other isn't getting us anywhere, Hannibal."

Hannibal looked down, inadvertently getting an eyeful of Will's tanned thighs and immediately looked back into his eyes which were the color of the sea, of vegetation, and the sky and everything Hannibal cared about. He nodded. "I think you've been spending too much time amongst the humans, you are starting to speak like one."

Will laughed, then, openly relieved. "Don't pretend you don't love them, too."

By the Gods, he was beautiful, Hannibal mused, a small smile upon his own lips. "Perhaps," he responded, entirely too enraptured to notice the water swelling around them and up the banks.

They stood there for an untold amount of time, just grinning at each other until Will cleared his throat. "Anyway, I'm going fishing, now. Do you want to come?"

Hannibal straightened his back and extended his arm, "I would be delighted."

 

And so it was that Oceanus - Greek god, born of Chaos and Gaea, sanctified by Eros, commander of the streams and brackish water - began to court his Will, his Tethys. Well, that's what the humans called it… and their name for Will, as they thought he was a woman. His beauty and tendency to wear clothing favored by young fisherwomen ("They wear it because it's comfortable!") often obfuscated his gender, though he wasn't honestly bothered by it. As a God, gender and sex were even more fluid than humanity's flimsy definitions so, really, it was more baffling when the humans were rigid in their gender roles rather than the opposite… Although, Will found the flower crowns enchanting and even though the humans couldn't decide amongst themselves what, exactly, he was the God(dess) OF, they did love to talk about their… relationship. Which was a friendship. At least, currently.

They were the talk of the Gods, after that blissful afternoon in summer. Though, really, humanity gossiped about them worse than the Gods did. No one was ever quite sure where humanity got their gossip, nor their information about the Gods at all, but one would have to be the highest caliber of ignorant to not see the Gods' symbiotic relationship with humanity (including but not limited to as bedmates and worshipers). If Gods didn't have a penchant for loving humanity to a fault, maybe humans wouldn't know about them at all and then what would they do? Often, Hannibal and Will were left to their own devices, as they preferred it that way. Neither of them had been involved in the Titanomachy against Zeus, after all (Will because he didn't think it was his place and Hannibal because he didn't deem it worth his time) so they were given a lot of leeway in their respective fields to do as they wished.

Well, within reason, and as long as they didn't do _too_ much damage to the everyday lives of humans.

 

The first time Will kisses Hannibal, a dam broke and flooded a few farmers' fields.

It was the beginning of autumn and Hannibal was curating the waters, sending some fish lower into the muck to prepare the for the cold weather. His tentacles were spread around him, in the muck and on the surface of the water as he stood on the bank, his eyes closed as he hummed a very low, constant sound some would mistake for cicadas. Will was behind a tree. He had been to the nearby village, handing out the will to harvest and prepare for the winter months to whoever seemed to need it most, though some missed his gift and it flooded back into him, making him give perhaps double the amount he otherwise would have to the next person. He gave a woman with four children and no husband the will to live. He gave her eldest child who was sickly the will to survive the winter. He willed the tender of the fields and their neighbors to be more kindly to each other and to the widow's family. It was exhausting, handing out his gifts, but worth it. The humans thought he was a mortal man, a fisherman who lived in the woods, though no one had seen for themselves his encampment. They liked Will, who they thought he was, and he wasn't in any hurry to change their minds.

Coming across Hannibal unguarded was completely accidental, this time, though not unpleasant. Will enjoyed the moments before Hannibal was aware of him, where he could look his fill, following the lines and curves of Hannibal's face with his eyes as he longed to do with his hands. If asked, he would deny it but he even thought Hannibal's tentacles were beautiful. They started just below his hips, graduating from his natural tanned color into a dark blue - the tips of the tentacles were nearly black, though the underside remained light. They were powerful, but delicate and capable of being very gentle - he'd seen it for himself when Hannibal saved a changeling child from drowning and when he moved large stones closer to the shore for humans to use as anchors (not that he'd ever admit to doing such a thing).

And if Will would sometimes roll onto his belly and spend himself into the ground thinking of those soft, lukewarm appendages exploring his body in an intimate caress he could only guess at - that was between him and the dirt.

The problem with that, of course, was that no one knew how Hannibal… well… if he could do the Man Thing. If he wanted. If he had one or the other. Or if he was as indifferent to that sort of nonsense as he was to the politics of man. Will had never heard of Hannibal having a dalliance with a human, so that avenue of investigation didn't pan out. In fact, when he has asked, they all made references to his "wife" Tethys. Who, though they didn't know it, was the one asking in the first place.

Will sighed. This was getting his nowhere. Not that he was unhappy being friendly with Hannibal - it was actually more enjoyable than he expected - but if they could be happy in another way… perhaps even _all_ ways. Will flushed and crept closer.

Hannibal was still on the bank, the tone of his humming changing slightly as he worked with different aspects of the river to keep things running smoothly. Hopefully, at any rate. He was essentially deaf to the world around him, so focused was he on his task. Invisible to humans, and most Gods, when he wanted to be, he was free to let his guard down and devote himself wholeheartedly to the task… which is why when he was exploring the permanence of a beaver dam upstream, he was completely taken aback by a set of lips upon his own. The kiss was clumsy at first, Will having completely focused on avoiding the tentacles and the water, knowing Hannibal would look at him and then he would invariably embarrass himself and lose his nerve, didn't take time to think about what he was supposed to do if he actually succeeded.

Hannibal's eyes flew open in shock, staring directly into Will's equally stunned eyes, and for a full moment it was incredibly awkward until Hannibal slowly closed his eyes again and tilted his head just-so and then Will couldn't breathe. It was happening. Hannibal wanted to kiss - wanted to kiss _him_. His hands tentatively went to Hannibal's shoulders and in the next moment he was being embraced by strong, slightly damp, arms - surrounded, encompassed - and he released a sort of sigh that somehow had held all of the tension in his body and finally was able to fully participate and respond to Hannibal's questing mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> Oceanus was an ancient Greek god – born of the union of Chaos and Gaea, sanctified by Eros. He was married to Tethys – some say was his sister, but I’m going with ‘another male God’ – with whom he had numerous children called Oceanids, which were lesser gods and goddesses of rivers, sea, and springs. In fact, Oceanus and Tethys were so fertile that they caused flooding, so they divorced (you may have noticed when Hannibal feels very strongly, waters swell) – they weren’t involved in the Titanomachy against Zeus so he let them freely reign in their water kingdom.
> 
> In ancient texts, Oceanus is depicted as having horns (which I’m going with the picture’s (refer to Camille's artwork located here: http://rdbl.co/2fyKasM) thick dreadlock/tentacle “hair” as humans mistaking for horns and the tail of a serpentine fish (though sometimes tentacles were also used). He’s later considered a simple sea god or merely the personification of the sea – dark, large, capricious, and mysterious.
> 
> Thanks for reading this until the end, I hope you enjoyed it - feel free to comment & let me know what you think!
> 
> Thank you in particular to @pinkbagels who put up with my hemming and hawing these last few months and for being a great beta!


End file.
